Indonesia cultural values nurture corruption
Indonesia cultural values nurture corruption
Tantri Yuliandini and Kasparman Piliang, The Jakarta Post,
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra
Certain cultural values Indonesians hold dearly encourage
corruption, making it almost impossible to eradicate such
practices, secretary general of Transparency International
Indonesia Emmy Hafild said on Tuesday.
Addressing the fifth National Congress on Culture in
Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Emmy said that there were inherent
perceptions in the society that did not support clean practices,
particularly when it came to government officials.
"Obligations to give charity and the expectations of (the
people in) their villages and relatives are all real and
difficult obligations to refuse. How can an official rely solely
on his salary when society's expectations of him are so high?"
she said.
According to Emmy, society tends to mock government officials
who do not own fancy houses, expensive cars or large areas of
land; who cannot send their children to study overseas and who
cannot financially support their relatives.
"I look around me and find that the values we live by are not
in favor of someone who lives free from corruption. My experience
tells me that far from stopping corruption, these values nurture
it," Emmy stressed.
Citing a report issued by the Berlin-based International
Transparency, Emmy said Indonesia had remained one of the most
corrupt countries in the world in the last three years.
Indonesia came sixth in the list of most corrupt countries out
of 133 surveyed in 2003. In 2002, Indonesia ranked fourth out of
122 countries surveyed.
"Except for Myanmar, among ASEAN countries surveyed, Indonesia
is the most corrupt. While in Asia, only Bangladesh and Myanmar
are more corrupt than Indonesia," she said in her presentation.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) consists of
Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines,
Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
The World Bank, one of the country's major donors, released on
Monday a report on anti-corruption drives in the country.
According to the bank, agencies in charge of enforcing anti-
corruption measures are weak, poorly funded, ill-equipped, and
riddled with corruption.
Emmy presented a paper titled Creating Cultural Concept,
Policy and Strategy to Fight Corruption in the Fifth National
Congress on Culture attended by more than 700 community leaders
from across Indonesia.
Historian Anhar Gonggong agreed with Emmy, saying that
Indonesia's strong filial tendencies have created a vicious
circle.
"An official may have gotten his position because of help from
a high ranking relative in the first place," he said, explaining
the reason the latter felt obligated to help his other relatives.
"If he doesn't help them, he will be branded un-familial," he
said.
Anhar said people must be taught to understand moral
commitments and to uphold the law.
Emmy advocated publicly shaming those who resort to
corruption.
"We should all figure out how to make the society look down on
corrupt officials, mock them and isolate them within the
society," she said to the applause of participants.
Despite rampant corruption practices, the government is yet to
send big time corrupters to jail.
The country's two biggest Muslim organizations -- Nahdlatul
Ulama and Muhammadiyah -- signed an agreement last week to embark
on a national campaign to eradicate corruption practices in the
country.